Archive for the ‘Football In General’ Category

The Raith Supporters Trust attended the Fans meeting on League Reconstruction last night at Starks Park. It was an interesting and frank session with Turnbull Hutton and Eric Drysdale leading the discussion and a number of other Rovers Directors present. Below is a brief summary of the main points discussed:

The SFL have a ‘shopping list’ of issues they’d like to address in any reconstruction, namely:

A single league body

Fairer distribution of money

An easing of the ground regulations to get into top flight (seats, undersoil heating etc)

Voting rights being dominated by the Old Firm

More promotion and relegation between divisions

Number of teams in each division (bigger divisions, not playing each other 4 times)

The Board of RRFC felt that the 12-12-18 proposal meets all these except the last item on the above list.

The SPL and SFL will merge, this is not a takeover by one of the other

The Old Firm veto will end as the new league body will have 9 Directors: 3 from the Premier, 2 from the Championship, 1 from the National League, 2 Non-executive Directors and a Chairperson

There will be two automatic promotion spots from National League to the Championship, and a 6-team playoff between the bottom 2 in the Championship and those in positions 3-6 in the National League

A pyramid has been proposed, but this is dependent on the SFA being able to get agreement with the non-league bodies to set up two national feeder leagues – It was felt this probably won’t happen in the short term.

SPL teams are giving up money in order to create a better model lower down the league structure. This means teams finishing in the top half of the Championship before the split receiving significantly more money than at present (an additional £419k for the winners). For example if Raith Rovers finished second again they would receive an extra £352k on top of the current £90k

The other potential benefit to clubs lower down in the structure will be that any sponsorship or TV money over and above what is currently raised will trickle down to all 42 clubs, rather than being kept by the SPL clubs.

Ground regulations will be relaxed and will be handled more on a case-by-case common sense basis.

Promotion and relegation between Premier and Championship will be done through the “Middle 8 split” consisting of the bottom four teams from the Premier and top four teams from the Championship. The middle 8 would start with everyone on zero points potentially making it a more exciting ‘sprint’

The Board of RRFC felt that while 12-12-18 is not seen as ideal, it is really the only model on the table. Many other configurations have been discussed and researched, but could not be made to work financially. The club is concerned that if it doesn’t go ahead then the SPL will invite clubs into an SPL2 and do nothing to address any of the concerns on the shopping list.

They felt that while the proposals don’t deliver bigger leagues at the top end of the game they do mean that the majority of the 42 teams in Scotland will play a greater number of teams each season than they currently do. They see the current proposal as a window of opportunity to move forward, and the only option that will allow Raith Rovers to break out of its current financial situation. They recognise that it is not perfect, but believe it is the only way forward which is likely to be offered. While not perfect, going forward the single league body and change in voting rights mean that it will be much easier to change the make-up of the divisions in future if 12-12-18 is found not to be the right structure.

The session was well attended and we appreciate the RRFC Board giving us the chance to find out more about the proposals and put our views to the Board. If you have any thoughts then please let us know at chairman@raithtrust.org.uk

Our recent survey of Raith Rovers fans has shown that most still need convincing on the radical changes to Scottish football being discussed this week.

The survey of almost 300 Rovers fans showed that less than a quarter of fans support the move to a 12-12-18 set up splitting into three leagues of eight (23%). There was more encouraging news on other aspects of the proposals with the move to one league body and a fairer distribution of money in the game both strongly supported (88% and 98% respectively).

87% of fans didn’t feel adequately consulted by the football authorities.

Commenting on the results, Chairman of the Raith Supporters Trust Alan Russell said “I am hugely encouraged that there is agreement on a move to one league body and a fairer sharing out of money. These are two changes that would benefit both Raith Rovers and Scottish football.

Russell added ‘These results also show that there is a lot of scepticism amongst Rovers fans about the proposed league structure and a degree of frustration around the lack of proper consultation with supporters. The most disappointing thing about this whole debate is that yet again the views of fans seemed to have been ignored. Over the last few years at Raith Rovers we have made great progress with fans and the club working together and fan representation on the Board of Directors. It is just a shame that the wider football authorities still haven’t woken up to the contribution supporters can make. Football is for fans and if those in charge listen to their views then Scottish football can have a much stronger future”.

The Raith Supporters Trust are keen to find out what Rovers fans think of the league reconstruction being proposed by the football authorities. We have put together a short online survey which you can access at the link below.

The survey should only take five minutes to fill in as it is all tick the box questions and all responses are completely confidential.

We will be using the results to let the RRFC Board know how Rovers fans feel on this important issue.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Supporters Trust member or not, we are keen to hear from as many Rovers fans as possible so please take the time to fill it in and tell as many fellow fans about it as possible. Your views are extremely important to us.

A press conference was held yesterday at Hampden to announce the latest reconstruction plans. Read the article on the BBC website for more information on the key points:

SPL proposal is for a 12-12-18 structure

Top two leagues to split into three leagues of eight after 22 matches then play a further seven home and seven away games

Leagues will be called Premier Division, Championship and National League

Top eight teams to play for title and European places; middle eight to contest promotion and relegation in and out of Premier Division; bottom eight to decide who drops into National League

11 out of 12 SPL clubs need to vote in favour of plans, while the proposal requires approval of 23 out of 30 SFL clubs

One league body to replace SPL and SFL

We’re talking with the Raith Rovers board to find out their thoughts on the proposal, and would also like to know the views of as many of our members as possible. Use the comments area here, our Facebook page, or come and talk to us at the Trust table in the south stand on match days.

The Football League in England have agreed a Financial Fair Play framework that will come into force next season, with sanctions being introduced in 2 years time. Would you like to see something similar north of the border?

Supporters Direct Scotland, the voice of football supporters’ trusts in Scotland, today publishes The Fans’ Plan – key recommendations to shape the future of Scottish league football based on the results of supporters’ surveys over the past two years and a detailed analysis of the issues facing the game.

The Fans’ Plan calls for:

greater competition within Scottish league football structures

equal funding for each team in a league

support for clubs by central league management to increase the average attendance over a season of 20% by 2016, and achieve an average stadium capacity utilisation of 65% within 10 years

two leagues of 16 teams, and a qualifying league of 10

re-introducing the League Cup, with a mini-league qualifying format structured on a geographical basis with four teams in each group

improved training and professional development for all players including greater use of Modern Apprenticeships and post-career planning

the establishment and implementation of a strong club licensing scheme

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About The Trust

Raith Supporters Trust was set up in 2001 to make sure that the voice of the Raith Rovers support is heard.

We are a democratic organisation made up of ordinary fans of Raith Rovers FC. We work with the football club board and other fan groups to help make sure that Raith Rovers FC has a strong and stable future as a club at the heart of the community.

The Trust is the legal vehicle for the Raith Forum’s shareholding in New Raith Rovers Ltd, which represents approximately 5% of the total shares in the companies which make up Raith Rovers. As a result the fans are now represented on the board of the football club with a 'Supporters Director' giving Raith fans a real say in the direction and running of the club.